Lent Devotions Day 34: “Aladdin”

“And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” – Psalm 9:10

Having children, to me, gives me an excuse to watch all the cartoons I want to watch (not that really need one to begin with, lol). Eliana (our 2 1/2 year old daughter) loves cartoons, so this is pretty great.

After months of coaxing (which you need to do with a steadfast toddler), she finally agreed to watch Aladdin for the first time. She’s pretty set in her shows, so getting her to watch one of my classics was huge.

The first time Aladdin and Princess Jasmine meet, they are chased by the palace guards. There’s a moment in which, prior to leaping down to hoped-for safety, Aladdin stretches his hand to hers and asks her, “Do you trust me?”

She didn’t truly know him. Sure, he had just saved her from getting her hand potentially chopped off, but she had just met him minutes before. She needed to place her full trust in him. It was almost blind faith.

Near the middle of the story, he asks her the same question in a different scenario. He was inviting her on a magic carpet ride. I could imagine anyone being afraid of heights (um, mmmeeee) perhaps squirming at the invitation. But Aladdin asks her again, “Do you trust me?”

This time was different. It was not a blind faith. Track with me. I know in the story Aladdin was hiding who he really was. Even at that, she knew who he was. When she made the decision to trust him in thatmoment, it was based on how Aladdin had proven himself lasttime.

We have an invitation to trust in the Lord. This looks different in each of our lives, but the opportunity is there nevertheless. He desires for you to simply trust in him. You don’t need to figure it out. You don’t need to worry. You only need to look back and see how he has not forsaken you in the past, which means he won’t in the present or future either.

what now?

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the areas in your life where God is asking you to trust in him. These might not be too hard to notice. Pray about these areas today with the specific purpose of move towards trust in God in these areas.